Author: scrappyyoga

So it’s been a crazy couple of months between new jobs and my surf association.

For those of you who dont know, I’m part of the Big Stick Surfing Association. Every year in April, we produce an “old boards, no cords” surfing contest called Logjam!. It’s been in the same place, Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, for the last 35 years.

We are in the home stretch…two more weeks. The moment we have been working for for 10 months.

We have all the pieces now: the posters, shirts, vendors and surfers! I’m totally stoked for this years event!

Readers, if you are interested, follow @bigsticksurfing on IG and you will see awesome surf pics from our surf community and maybe even some surfing pics taken by me 🙂

The recent weather has been cold, rainy and very little surf. In order to keep my passion for surfing going, my husband and I started woodworking. We started making surfboard necklaces inspired by my Koa necklace I bought in Hawaii. We also have experimented with rings, fish hooks and anchors.

Here is a pic of a surfboard necklace I hand shaped.

I then added a wood stain on the surfboard. I chose a more natural stain to just bring out the wood grain.

I’m excited to show you what type of cord I have been working on, once it’s done. I have been taught by the very talented blogger craftysurf.com.

* I was not paid to endorse these products. All thoughts and comments are my own.

You all know that I am now an avid surfer and yogi. Well, surfing and practicing yoga in colder weather just does so much damage to your lips and skin. Lately, I have been dealing with dry, cracking and even bleeding lips with no relief. I have also been dealing with dry skin, and even with all the moisturizers and sunscreen, still dry and cracking.

Finally, I found natural and organic products from Last Meridian that has been healing my lips and skin. It’s made locally (to me) in Santa Cruz. I tried their Northern Kiss Lip Balm and Surf Balm.

What I love about the Northern Kiss lip balm is it’s made from Beeswax, Cocoa butter Cocoa powder, Sweet almond oil, Local Raw Honey, Spruce essential oil, and Peppermint essential oil. All of these products mixed together smells great but also feels great on my achy lips. It’s been healing all of my issues, and I couldn’t be happier.

I also started using Last Meridian Surf Balm for actually everyday use. It’s an SPF 30, and I find the balm is more soothing to my skin and also has a hydrating quality. I have to wear SPF everyday, and even under makeup. It’s great for under any foundations or powders, and it’s not oily.

I’m absolutely in love! For more information on Last Meridian products click here

Visiting the Big Island brought a lot of Hawaiian history to my attention. First piece of history we saw were the Kailoka Petroglyph Fields. Actually, we were staying in a condo right on the fields, so it was easy to walk to. These fields were all over the place, and there was even a 32 mile horse trail filled with petroglyphs.

I enjoyed figuring out what the pictures represented and walking in the volcanic ash. It was totally like walking on another planet!

So this past week, my husband and I took a vacation to The Big Island in Hawaii. We were also there to celebrate my birthday, which happened to be a BIG birthday. I guess it made sense to go to the BIG island. We decided to stay in Kailua Kona, which is full of lava fields, and it pretty much felt like a different planet.

The Big Island isn’t known for it’s surfing, but you can surf there, I mean there is a coast. It’s just not lined with surf shops like Maui or Oahu. It’s mainly rocky which isn’t a difference for me being a Santa Cruz surfer. I did have something interesting happen to me on my birthday, which I wanted to share. The surf report wasn’t that big, so I wanted to go to our local beach break. It’s a beautiful inlet with somewhat of a beach and comes equipped with lifeguards, so I went to talk to the local surf shop. Now, this isn’t my first time surfing somewhere else, and it’s not my first time surfing in Hawaii. I know the rules, and I’m well aware I’m a guest, but usually I don’t have an issue. I just make casual conversation and mention I’m a Santa Cruz surfer, and that breaks the ice. For those who don’t know, Santa Cruz surfers have a reputation of being SUPER AGGRO. Well, that didn’t work this time. They were pretty much turned off by me from the beginning. They were worried about broken boards and the rocky terrain so they wouldn’t rent me out a board (they also denied others), and just to put icing on my birthday cake, told me to go to Kauai where the “surfer girls” go. Surfer girls in this context was said in a negative way.

In the past, I have written on how “surfer girl” could be a derogatory term if used in such a way, but in the past year, it’s also become a term I really enjoy. The people I surf with use it as a term of endearment, and as multiple FEMALE surfers have said, we have all been called much worse in the water. Needless to say, I didn’t surf on The Big Island, and I wasn’t going to rent a board where I’m not welcome. Now, I didn’t let it ruin my day, and sadly this won’t be the last time I run into this, but it makes me appreciate ALL the surfers I know who believe men and women can surf.

I have documented my struggles in finding a yoga studio that fits my needs. Either the yoga isn’t my style (Vinyasa), the class times aren’t consistent, or frankly, the yoga studio is too expensive for my frequency.

Well, I pushed myself to yoga class last night by a teacher who gives free classes out of her converted garage. It was a perfect night to practice yoga as well. It was super rainy and cold, and since we were in a converted garage, the rain sounded awesome.

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. My muscles have been hurting lately and a guided practice is exactly what I needed.

It’s very rare that I surf the weekends anymore, mainly because the beaches are so crowded. This particular weekend I had to surf because the huge XXL swell was easing, and we have rain forecasted most of the week.

My group of surfer buddies went out a little earlier than low tide, just to get into position. After paddling and catching some mushy waves (or trying to), I was just frustrated in the area of the ocean my group was sitting in. I decided to paddle more towards the cliff, hanging out with another surfer.

We took turns on the shoulder of the wave, then all of a sudden this huge elephant seal came out of nowhere! If you aren’t sure what elephant seals look like, see the pic below. Picture courtesy of National Geographic

He/she was huge, and seemed to be following us. My new surfer friend and I decided to immediately exit the water to let the Elephant Seal pass. Strangely enough, he/she never really left. The Elephant Seal moved from the shore, to a rock, then back to shore. These are always good reminders as I am a guest in the sea.

Finally, when the waves started to break did the Elephant Seal go back out to sea. Readers, I would love to know what is your weirdest animal encounter?

I’m getting ready for a pretty big surf session tomorrow, so I felt that today yoga would be a great way to relax and stretch out my aching muscles

Since I have been setting up more home practice than anything, I decided to dedicate a place in my living room for my mat. I thought this would be a nice place, especially with the sunlight.

Btw, I know my yoga mat is completely worn out, but I love it so much I really can’t part with it.

Today, I focused on more of a “warm vinyaas flow” to keep the heart rate up and stretch out my leg muscles. Today consisted of a lot of chaturangas, planks, and half moon poses. I also did some pop ups just to keep it fresh.